It’s less than three weeks since the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the accession of King Charles III and yet, despite the air of sadness still hanging over the House of Windsor, the reality of a new reign is beginning to take shape.
One of the first official portraits issued of the new King showed him at work on his red boxes. It was a very public declaration that, despite his personal grief, the business of constitutional monarchy continued. Her Late Majesty was known to attend to her boxes, containing government papers from the UK and her realms, virtually every day. Her official Platinum Jubilee portrait in February 2022 showed her at work on them. And as Charles III was seen taking over the work within days of his mother’s death, a poignant memory was in view. The new King kept on keeping on with a portrait of his parents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, in the background.
Even as Charles III took a few much needed days away from the spotlight, retreating to his home at Birkhall, the boxes followed while the apparatus of being king continued to unfold. We learned that The King had already approved his cypher which will eventually become a familiar part of the every day, appearing on everything from post boxes to government buildings. He’d also given the nod to a set of memorial stamps for his mother. The four images of Her Late Majesty were taken from a Golden Jubilee set and released on September 27th 2022, just 19 days after her death.
We’ve seen King Charles virtually every day of this first part of his reign. But behind the scenes, other events have called for his attention. We now know that his image will soon appear on bank notes, coins and stamps while it was unexpectedly confirmed that a date for his Coronation is already inked into the royal diary, even if the day in question remains top secret.
It’s a packed three weeks by anyone’s standards. The King noted in his first address to the nation that he would now, with regret, no longer have the same time for the causes that have been so important to him over the decades. He was right. The handful of days that Charles III has ruled have already been filled for him with the matters of Majesty.
Very soon, he will return to London where plans are already unfolding for a first State Visit, a revival of a royal duty that had to be put on ice when Her Late Majesty decided to stop overseas travel as she approached the age of 90. Her 73 year old successor will now take them on once more. Within weeks, Charles III will lead the nation in remembrance at the Cenotaph. No doubt, first ideas for one of the most important speeches of his life, his first Christmas Day address, are already being noted down.
It has been an extraordinary time for many and at the heart of it all is The King. He has had to endure this most devastating of losses while carrying the expectations of the Crown and the country it represents. Announcements like new stamps and coins might seem small fry but they highlight that behind the heartbroken man mourning a mother is a Monarch who has been getting down to the very important business of a royal reign.
The images of history are fixed in the mind and the reality of rule takes hold.
